Friday, December 21, 2012

When I came across these photos, I was gobsmacked, and found them
distasteful, before I went ahead to read the details of what the
pictures were about. After reading it, I swayed a bit in line with the
artist's reasoning, but couldn't help but wonder the amount of
criticism and backlash these pictures will receive.
Italian photographer Yossi Loloi is receiving alot of criticism from pundits over his FullBeauty art project which features pictures of extremely obese women as seen above.
Each woman weighs at least 189kg — with the heaviest weighing 283kg —
and hides nothing from the camera's as the pictures are taken with no
clothes on.
36 year old Yossi said: “I wanted to show that beauty isn’t owned by skinny people alone.
“To this end the project had to be provocative, but at the same time
reassuring, so I focused on their fullness and femininity as a form of
protest against discrimination.
“My intention was to show women of size in a way that would be hard for
people to criticize. So I shot them in settings that weren't instantly
recognizable.
“This way, the subjects would be taken out of context and viewed in
their own intimacy, creating a sense of liberation and serenity.
“I was more interested in shooting these women for what they represent
and not necessarily who they are in real life — to me they are human
sculptures.”
While the photographs in his project will be judged by most on their
artistic merit, Yossi accepts that they will be taken the wrong way by
some viewers.
He said: “It saddens me sometimes when people stop ‘at the gates’ of the
‘health issue’ rather than stepping inside the image and trying to
understand it.
“It shows how we are spoiled culturally and so it is my job as an artist
to ‘awaken’ feelings in others, be it outrage or marvel.
“With FullBeauty I am trying to underline that we all have the right to
be appreciated the way we are and that there should be no dictatorship
on taste.”Do these photo's really show the artist's creative side or calls attention to the women's weight? Do leave your comments.-SUN UK